16 LDS sex abuse cases found

2025
  • Crime year: 2025
    • Samuel Arthur Baugh
    • Samuel Baugh (1983 – ) was a Mormon church member in Kingston, Idaho; charged in 2025 with multiple felonies related to child sexual abuse; allegedly molested two children for many years; his defense attorney noted Baugh was active in the church while requesting a reduction in the bond amount; Floodlit is seeking court documents
    • Alleged crimeAlleged crime: 2010s, 2020s,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime county: ID - Shoshone,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime state: Idaho,
    • Church positionsLDS positions: Unknown position,
    • Criminal casesCriminal case(s): Ongoing,
      • A law enforcement officer called the case "one of the most twisted instances of grooming he’d ever seen"
      "He has never been in trouble before. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; he attends church every Sunday at the ward in Pinehurst."
      — Baugh's defense attorney Trish Espelund
    • View report »
    • Kevin Robert Christensen
    • Kevin Christensen (1960 – ) was a Mormon church member and judge in Brigham City, Utah; accused of receiving and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to individuals he believed to be minor children; pleaded not guilty in July 2025
    • Alleged crimeAlleged crime: 2020s,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime city: UT - Tremonton,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime county: UT - Box Elder,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime state: Utah,
    • Church positionsLDS positions: Stake high council,
    • Criminal casesCriminal case(s): Ongoing,
      • Allegedly sent young child's LDS directory photo to adult for rape fantasy
      "We can't have it in our lives. It's the only way I can protect my kids. [...] He was a judge. He was a member of the LDS Church. He was a father. He was a grandfather. I mean, he saw his grandkids and his kids every day."
      — a relative of Christensen, after court hearing, Oct. 2, 2025
    • View report »
    • Dennis Joe Empey
    • Dennis Empey (1957 – ) was a Mormon church member in Driggs, Idaho and scout leader in Provo, Utah; accused of sexually abusing many children between 1981 and 1990; a stake president and four Mormon bishops allegedly failed to report abuse for years; convicted in 1991 in Utah of child molestation; sentenced to one year in jail and three years probation; charged in 2025 in Idaho with sex crimes
    • CrimeCrime: 1980s, 1990s,
    • Alleged crime scenesCrime city: UT - Provo,
    • Alleged crime scenesCrime state: Idaho, Utah,
    • ConvictedConvicted: 1991,
    • Church positionsLDS positions: Scout leader,
    • Criminal casesCriminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Ongoing, Probation, Registered sex offender,
    • Civil casesCivil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result,
    • Alleged failure to reportAlleged failure to report
      • Empey's alleged sex crimes span at least 44 years (1981 - 2025)
      "This man has molested so many children that it involved four Bishops from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
      — Joe Empey's neighbor, pre-sentencing letter to Utah County judge George Ballif, Sept. 13, 1991
    • View report »
    • Parker Trent Kingston
    • Parker Trent Kingston
    • Parker Kingston (2004 – ) was a Mormon church member and football player for BYU; arrested and charged with rape February 2026; case is ongoing as of February 2026
    • Alleged crimeAlleged crime: 2020s,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime city: St. George,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime county: Washington,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime state: Utah,
    • Criminal casesCriminal case(s): Ongoing,
      • "Kingston found himself turning to God for guidance.“I’d always just get down and pray, like, ‘Please help me. Please lead me in a direction that I need to go and I just kept feeling like I needed to stay,” he said.“Alright, I need to go somewhere because we got all the receivers coming back. I’m going to be in the same position,” Kingston recalled thinking at the time.After praying, the receiver decided to stay in Provo another season.He thought, “‘No, I got to stay. Everything’s going to work out.’”“And it did. This year I had the best year of my life, and I wouldn’t have had this much success if I had left and went somewhere else,” Kingston said.[...] “Once I went through the temple, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is what all, everything I did this year — scoring touchdowns, catching passes — that was the best moment of my 2025 right there.’"[...] “I just prayed for like an open mind, a clear mind to help me be the best individual and person that I can be on and off the field,” he said. “I pray for that every day, just giving me opportunities to be a light on other people and use my platform to inspire kids. I just kept praying for that open mind, ‘Give me health, give me strength,’ and it came to light.”"
      — Parker Kingston, reflecting on his 2025 year, "BYU’s Parker Kingston talks faith, trusting God on ‘Faith Huddle’", Deseret News 2026-01-21
    • View report »
    • Derek Lange
    • Derek Lange (1970 – ) was a Mormon church member and high school teacher and sports coach in Colorado City, Arizona; charged with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony; enticing a minor, a second-degree felony; and four counts of dealing in harmful materials to a minor, a third-degree felony
    • Alleged crimeAlleged crime: 2020s,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime state: Arizona,
    • Church positionsLDS positions: Missionary,
    • Criminal casesCriminal case(s): Ongoing,
    • View report »
    • Hali Ann Lunt
    • Hali Lunt (1981 – ) was a Mormon church member in Layton, Utah; in January 2026, Lunt was charged with unlawful kissing of a minor, a class A misdemeanor; at the time of the alleged crime, Lunt was the Primary president in the Weaver Lane Ward, Layton Utah Shoreline Stake
    • Alleged crimeAlleged crime: 2020s,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime city: crime-city-ut-layton,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime county: UT - Davis,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime state: Utah,
    • Church positionsLDS positions: Primary,
    • Criminal casesCriminal case(s): Ongoing,
    • View report »
    • Paul Edward Mayer
    • Paul Mayer (1975 – ) was a former Mormon bishop in Sandy, Utah; accused of recording a 16-year-old in a bedroom and bathroom on a GoPro; charged with 19 counts related to sexual abuse of a minor; pled guilty to aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and voyeurism; sentenced in 2025 to 1-15 years in prison and 0-364 days in jail
    • CrimeCrime: 2020s,
    • Alleged crime scenesCrime city: Sandy, Utah,
    • Alleged crime scenesCrime state: Utah,
    • ConvictedConvicted: 2025,
    • Church positionsLDS positions: Bishop,
    • Criminal casesCriminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
    • View report »
    • Joseph Brent Walker
    • Joseph Walker (1955 – ) was a former Mormon bishop, stake presidency counselor and LDS Public Affairs employee in Utah; charged in 2025 with three third-degree felony counts related to child sexual exploitation; allegedly "engaged in several sexually explicit conversations […] to seduce, lure, and entice [a 14-year-old girl] into engaging in multiple sexual acts;" released from jail after letters from church members
    • Alleged crimeAlleged crime: 2020s,
    • Alleged crime scenesAlleged crime state: Utah,
    • Church positionsLDS positions: Bishop, Church employee, Missionary, Stake presidency counselor,
    • Criminal casesCriminal case(s): Ongoing,
      • Walker helped Mormon apostle Russell Ballard prepare speeches for years
      "[Walker] needs to be with his community. He needs therapy, his ward, his family, his friends. He is not a risk to the community and never has been."
      — Letter requesting Walker’s release, August 2025
    • View report »
Showing 1 to 16 of 16 results

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